Stephen Hawking's worldwide best seller, A Brief History of Time, has been a landmark volume in scientific writing. Its author's engaging voice is one reason, and the compelling subjects he addresses is another: the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, the history and future of the universe.

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Publisher's Summary

Stephen Hawking's worldwide best seller, A Brief History of Time, has been a landmark volume in scientific writing. Its author's engaging voice is one reason, and the compelling subjects he addresses is another: the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, the history and future of the universe. But it is also true that in the years since its publication, readers have repeatedly told Professor Hawking of their great difficulty in understanding some of the book's most important concepts.

This is the origin of and the reason for A Briefer History of Time: its author's wish to make its content more accessible to readers, as well as to bring it up-to-date with the latest scientific observations and findings.

Although this book is literally somewhat "briefer", it actually expands on the great subjects of the original. Purely technical concepts, such as the mathematics of chaotic boundary conditions, are gone. Conversely, subjects of wide interest that were difficult to follow because they were interspersed throughout the book have now been given entire chapters of their own, including relativity, curved space, and quantum theory.

This reorganization has allowed the authors to expand areas of special interest and recent progress, from the latest developments in string theory to exciting developments in the search for a complete unified theory of all the forces of physics. Like prior editions of the book, but even more so, A Briefer History of Time will guide nonscientists everywhere in the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space.

What the Critics Say

"Readers will come away with an excellent understanding of the apparent contradictions and conundrums at the forefront of contemporary physics....Throughout these discussions, the authors maintain the same wry, lively tone that made the original Brief History such a delight." (Publishers Weekly)

I mistakenly purchased, and listened to this book when I meant to get the original "A brief history of Time" by Hawkins.

So now I have listened to both. In my opinion the original is a more rich and detailed book. Of course, that's the point of this book, to consolidate that one.

But I ask why? The original wasn't beyond most readers ability to understand, and if it was, they probably weren't the type of people reading it.

So my advice: Stick with the original.

Perhaps if you want you bright 6 year old to read such a book, this one would be a better option.

The irony: The beginning of the original (more detailed, and complex version) starts with a sound bite from "Audible Kids", this one does not - that seems backwards. Or perhaps I am just living time backwards - as Hawkins explains - our current theories of physics can't conclusively prove that this isn't the case. :)

Top notch narration with a pleasant voice, and an awesome book! I never took a physics course and I stink at math; but the concepts were dumbed down just enough for me to get a basic grasp of the concepts, and I still have to listen to it again. Fortunately, I look forward to listening to it several more times.

This is a very intersting book and really gives a person an insight with Physics and many other harder science subjects. I will listen to this off and on just for refreshing and to really try to understand things I might of missed the first or second or third time. :)

I am currently listening to this audio and I have to say after having tried to decipher several books covering the same or like subjects I think that Mr. Hawking and his partner have finally given me something I can use. After listening to this I can say that I have a greater understanding of these principles and am not frustrated by their complexity. Things are more understandable when plain English and clear examples are used to describe various phenomena without overly complex language and mathematics being used to complicate things. A good book and a solid read if you are looking for an intro to the topic.

Where does A Briefer History of Time rank among all the audiobooks you???ve listened to so far?

This audiobook would rank in the top 30th percentile of the hundreds that I have read/listened to.

What other book might you compare A Briefer History of Time to and why?

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH by Richard Dawkins compares favorably to A BRIEFER HISTORY IN TIME because they both offer believable options as to how and why we might exist.I would add: THE BLANK SLATE by Steven Pinker and 36 ARGUMENTS FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD by Rebecca Newberger.

What about Erik Davies???s performance did you like?

I believe Erik Davis's performance made a complicated subject alive, understandable and enjoyable.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This is a book that I enjoyed reading and re-listening to over a 2 day time period because there was so much that I wished to remember.

Any additional comments?

I have about 90 books on my wish list so it will be a while before I add A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME to my list.

As a teacher, I know that it's one thing to understand complex ideas; it's quite another to articulate them clearly to someone who lacks a good frame of reference for understanding. Hawking's real genius is not in his knowledge and understanding of complicated ideas, it's in his ability to simplify them so that a guy like me, who dropped high school physics because it seemed so much like pure magic, is able to understand them on a basic level.

This was my first audio book and I thought the narrator did an excellent job.
The subjects discussed were covered well for someone with my knowledge of science. Stephen Hawking did an excellent job of bringing this subject down to a level that most people could understand.

This is a good book for anyone who is interested in a summary of how modern physics came to be and a general explanation of the theories of modern physics. I do think I could have done without the attempts to try to explain why or how God could have been involved - that is why I gave it 4 instead of 5 stars. Those attempts were inserted in a brief disjointed manner that didn't fit with the flow or purpose of the book.

This is a really good summary of some of the more complicated laws, theories and events we use currently to help us understand our universe. Thankfully there is little included that would require the listener to have a solid background in the physical sciences, and the analogies provided in the text assist competently in illuminating the theories that Hawking presents. From the elements to relativity or the age of the universe, or from Newton to Einstein and the more earthy events that influenced the great thinkers of the modern age, this publication really is great place to learn some of the basics about our anything but basic universe.

Good narrator, easy to listen to.

I'd be happy to recommend - I'm definitely going to listen to it again.

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